National guard troops ‘protecting’ ICE and other federal property in Chicago area – US politics live | US politics

The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, on Wednesday compared antifa to MS-13, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State, calling the loosely affiliated network of antifascist street activists “just as dangerous” as designated terrorist organizations during a White House roundtable discussion.

“They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua]as Isis, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them, they are just as dangerous,” Noem said. “They have an agenda to destroy us, just like the other terrorists we’ve dealt with for many, many years.”

The roundtable featured rightwing social media journalists such as Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt and others who cover leftwing protests.

Some of the groups Noem cited – Hamas, Hezbollah and Isis – are formally designated terrorist organizations that control territory, operate military wings, maintain command structures and have carried out mass casualty attacks including bombings, kidnappings and assassinations.

Extremism experts have long described antifa, by contrast, as having no centralized leadership, formal membership or organizational structure, and it has generally been described by federal law enforcement as a decentralized movement of activists who engage in protest activity, some of which has included property destruction and street violence.

The roundtable comes after Donald Trump signed an executive order in September designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization”.

While Republican lawmakers lined up to praise Donald Trump on Wednesday for brokering a tentative deal on the “first phase” of an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza, and win the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, Palestinian American were more wary.

“President Trump is the peace president! Finally, the living nightmare the hostages have been forced to endure will end and Americans Itay and Omer can be laid to rest,” Joni Ernst, the Iowa senator wrote on social media, referring to Israeli hostages who died in captivity. The tentative agreement would ensure the return of living Israeli hostages, and the remains of those who have died in Gaza since 7 October 2021.

Bernie Moreno, the Ohio senator who introduced a resolution in June calling for Trump to be awarded the Nobel peace prize for bombing nuclear sites in Iran, said the announcement made this a “historic” day, “for the United States, Israel, and peace in the Middle East”.

“President Trump has once again delivered on his promise to achieve peace through strength. An incredible feat that will go down in history. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!” Moreno added.

Brian Mast, a Florida representative who once served as a civilian volunteer in the Israeli military, and wore his old Israeli uniform to work in the aftermath of the 7 October 2021 Hamas-led attack, also praised Trump.

“President Trump just did what career diplomats never could – he brought the world closer than it’s ever been to peace in Gaza,” Mast, who chairs the House foreign affairs committee, wrote. “This deal only works if Hamas follows through. We don’t trust terrorists, we trust results.”

Donald Trump hailed what he said was a “great day” for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel and all surrounding nations, as well as the US.

“We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” he posted.

Hamas said on Thursday it had reached the agreement after talks on the proposal, confirming the deal includes an Israeli withdrawal from the enclave and a hostage-prisoner exchange.

Responding to the announcement, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “With God’s help, we will bring them all home.”

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.

We start with the news that a small number of National Guard troops has started protecting federal property in the Chicago area and assisting law enforcement in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.

An “element” of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Chicago area, according to a spokesperson for the US Northern Command, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details that have not been made public.

The troops are in the city to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command said online.

The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been activated for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn’t able to immediately offer details about how the troops were armed.

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the imprisonment of Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers.

“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. “Governor Pritzker also!”

Both Johnson and Pritzker are Democrats. Trump’s remarks come as national guard troops have begun arriving in the Chicago area at the order of the Trump administration, despite objections from Illinois officials, including Pritzker and Johnson.

Read the full story here:

In other developments:

• Donald Trump announced that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a tentative deal to end the fighting in Gaza, and free Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

• News of the Gaza agreement was praised by Republican lawmakers, who called on Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Palestinian Americans.

• During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term ‘Habeas Corpus’ and deferred to Kristi callshis homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the core legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.

• All of the witnesses who contributed testimony at the White House “antifa roundtable” hosted by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might better be called partisan conservative social media influencers. The influencers cover leftwing protests in a highly political manner, more akin to opposition research than nonpartisan reporting.

• Senate Republicans voted down a war powers resolution that would have checked Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against suspected drug smugglers after Democrats tried to counter the administration’s extraordinary use of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean.

• During the White House “antifa roundtable” on Wednesday, at least one wirness echoed Trump’s false claim that large numbers of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of killings by self-described “antifa” radicals in Portland is: one.